Fired NOAA workers say cuts could hinder weather forecasts
A Ph.D. scientist who issues tsunami alerts. A hurricane-hunting flight director. A researcher studying which communities will get flooded when a storm strikes.
A team of experts who were recently fired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are warning that the mass layoffs could hinder the agency’s ability to provide accurate weather forecasts and warnings.
Kayla Besong, a physical scientist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, was part of a team of 12 that programmed systems to determine whether parts of the U.S. coastline were at risk and issued alerts accordingly. “I was considered an essential employee, part of a 24/7 safety watch,” she said.
The mass firing of over 600 workers, mostly scientific and technical staff, has sparked concerns that NOAA’s workforce is being stretched too thin. The cuts have also raised concerns about the impact on public safety, particularly during severe weather events.
Weather disasters on the rise
Climate change is making weather disasters more common. Last year, NOAA counted 27 billion-dollar disasters, which resulted in the deaths of 568 people in the United States. It was the second-highest number since 1980, when NOAA began keeping such records, even accounting for inflation.
Meteorologists face growing challenges
Meteorologists and forecasters are facing increasingly harsh conditions, including public vitriol and harassment, despite their efforts to provide accurate predictions. Some blame the politicization of climate change and the proliferation of conspiracy theories.
Concerns about the cuts
NOAA officials said an “extensive process” was conducted before the layoffs to ensure “mission critical functions” weren’t compromised. The cuts are part of the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal workers, which have sparked protests and legal challenges.
However, former agency officials and leaders are speaking out against the cuts, saying they threaten public safety during weather crises. “Every office in NOAA was hit by these indiscriminate, misguided, ill-informed terminations,” said Rick Spinrad, the administrator of NOAA under President Joe Biden.
Expert opinions
Kayla Besong, Ph.D. in atmospheric science, said she was “using her skills to actively help people” and that the cuts will lead to a shortage of experts in the field. “When there’s any large displacement in the Earth’s crust or water, we get notified and have to determine if there’s an earthquake large enough to create a tsunami or if a tsunami has been generated by other means,” she said.
Andy Hazelton, a hurricane modeling specialist, said the cuts will lead to a shortage of experts in the field and warned that the quality of hurricane forecasting will suffer. “We’re working on the physical approximations, trying to make it more accurate, so the forecast error continues to shrink, the cone continues to get smaller and so the people who are going to get hit get more lead time,” he said.
Consequences of the cuts
The cuts have already resulted in a reduction in the number of meteorologists taking public calls and putting out forecasts. Francis Tarasiewicz, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Rhode Island, said, “We’re not the waste.”
The cuts have also affected the development of new tools, such as a flood inundation mapping tool, which was being developed by a team of students and employees who were let go. “When you don’t have people and bodies to verify how accurate the model depictions are, you’re not going to be successful,” said Evan Belkin, a doctoral student at the University of Albany.
Conclusion
The mass firing of over 600 workers at NOAA has raised concerns about the agency’s ability to provide accurate weather forecasts and warnings. The cuts have also led to a shortage of experts in the field, which will likely have a negative impact on public safety during severe weather events.
FAQs
Q: Why were the layoffs necessary?
A: The Trump administration said an “extensive process” was conducted before the layoffs to ensure “mission critical functions” weren’t compromised.
Q: What is the impact of the cuts on public safety?
A: The cuts have raised concerns about the agency’s ability to provide accurate weather forecasts and warnings, which could lead to a decrease in public safety during severe weather events.
Q: What is the impact of the cuts on the development of new tools?
A: The cuts have led to a shortage of experts in the field, which will likely have a negative impact on the development of new tools, such as a flood inundation mapping tool.
Q: What is the impact of the cuts on the National Weather Service?
A: The cuts have led to a reduction in the number of meteorologists taking public calls and putting out forecasts, which could lead to a decrease in the accuracy of weather forecasts.
